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Pay by state · 52 areas

Bus Driver, Transit and Intercity Salary by State (2026)

Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity earn the most in New York at $84,480 a year and the least in Arkansas at $37,520 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The national median is $59,050. The table below covers all 50 states, DC and Puerto Rico, with a cost-of-living adjusted column.

Highest median
$84,480New York
National median
$59,050BLS OEWS, May 2025
Lowest median
$37,520Arkansas
Areas reporting
52of 54 OEWS areas

Top and bottom

Highest- and lowest-paying states for bus drivers, transit and intercity

Ranked on the state median among the 50 states and DC. Territories are in the full table but not ranked here.

Highest median pay

  1. 1New York$84,480
  2. 2Washington$72,280
  3. 3Hawaii$68,500
  4. 4California$67,130
  5. 5Oregon$65,510

Lowest median pay

  1. 1Arkansas$37,520
  2. 2Alabama$37,700
  3. 3Mississippi$38,570
  4. 4West Virginia$39,260
  5. 5Kansas$41,340

All states

Bus Driver, Transit and Intercity salary in every state

Sort by any column. Employment is the number of bus drivers, transit and intercity OEWS estimates in that state; blank cells are estimates BLS suppressed because the sample was too small.

Annual wages by state, sortable by median, quartiles, employment and cost-of-living adjusted median
#
1NYNew York
$84,480
$64,590$84,70016,770$78,279
2WAWashington
$72,280
$61,770$93,1806,960$67,543
3HIHawaii
$68,500
$57,190$68,5002,190$62,300
4CACalifornia
$67,130
$55,540$76,92024,380$60,630
5OROregon
$65,510
$57,600$80,1702,620$63,380
6MAMassachusetts
$65,460
$58,650$93,5003,970$61,897
7MDMaryland
$65,220
$54,780$81,4804,890$62,139
8ILIllinois
$65,200
$57,430$85,9908,650$65,227
9AKAlaska
$64,150
$63,450$67,050250$62,672
10COColorado
$63,010
$55,610$66,8403,540$61,144
11OHOhio
$62,760
$47,840$70,0004,000$67,648
12NVNevada
$61,700
$44,720$90,5302,540$61,713
13NJNew Jersey
$61,140
$53,020$70,7006,420$56,192
14MOMissouri
$60,660
$46,870$61,1401,860$66,794
15DEDelaware
$60,510
$45,640$65,710380$60,626
16CTConnecticut
$60,100
$49,120$75,0401,830$58,006
17INIndiana
$58,410
$47,700$61,4802,130$62,585
18MEMaine
$57,870
$47,670$63,360470$59,629
19DCDistrict of Columbia
$55,580
$55,580$57,650150$50,573
20NHNew Hampshire
$54,830
$47,860$64,780300$52,638
21KYKentucky
$54,550
$38,310$61,1002,570$60,504
22AZArizona
$53,870
$45,620$59,2303,240$53,508
23VTVermont
$53,830
$47,310$62,630440$54,952
24VAVirginia
$52,940
$46,330$62,4003,800$52,362
25WIWisconsin
$52,660
$46,310$61,3602,220$55,965
26PAPennsylvania
$51,360
$43,520$63,6704,710$52,638
27UTUtah
$50,730
$46,730$58,6201,230$51,313
28OKOklahoma
$50,300
$44,760$57,7101,760$57,261
29MNMinnesota
$50,200
$46,010$58,4602,610$50,902
30IDIdaho
$49,000
$44,500$55,440520$51,312
31NDNorth Dakota
$48,890
$47,320$53,950250$54,958
32LALouisiana
$48,860
$37,090$63,4401,490$55,392
33TXTexas
$48,740
$42,610$56,12011,600$50,218
34RIRhode Island
$48,610
$45,810$57,98070$47,526
35FLFlorida
$48,300
$44,060$61,3509,130$46,705
36TNTennessee
$47,770
$45,480$58,9001,970$51,997
37MIMichigan
$47,660
$40,600$52,3103,620$49,534
38IAIowa
$45,890
$36,720$54,4501,560$52,289
39MTMontana
$45,640
$39,480$55,870450$48,222
40WYWyoming
$45,630
$44,600$62,710130$49,228
41NMNew Mexico
$45,610
$38,420$46,510580$49,462
42GAGeorgia
$45,500
$42,100$57,9403,700$47,252
43NENebraska
$45,120
$39,470$52,950460$50,076
44NCNorth Carolina
$44,060
$39,960$46,8402,900$46,710
45SCSouth Carolina
$43,330
$37,230$47,060630$46,219
46SDSouth Dakota
$41,590
$37,960$46,170410$46,949
47KSKansas
$41,340
$36,110$49,970430$45,899
48WVWest Virginia
$39,260
$37,960$46,560520$43,867
49MSMississippi
$38,570
$35,790$43,980400$44,357
50ALAlabama
$37,700
$35,990$45,950960$42,444
51ARArkansas
$37,520
$34,230$43,090570$43,158
52PRPuerto Rico
$32,230
$24,970$32,230510N/A

Method

How the cost-of-living adjustment works

The adjusted column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity (RPP) and multiplies by 100. RPPs measure how much a fixed basket of goods, services and rents costs in one state relative to the national average, so the result restates local pay in national-average dollars.

For bus drivers, transit and intercity, the adjustment does not change the leader: New York is first on raw pay and still first once prices are taken into account, at $78,279.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024 (public domain). The adjustment is NueCareer's calculation, not a BLS or BEA published statistic.

Questions

Bus Driver, Transit and Intercity pay by state: FAQ

Which state pays bus drivers, transit and intercity the most?

New York reports the highest median wage for bus drivers, transit and intercity at $84,480 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), followed by Washington ($72,280) and Hawaii ($68,500).

Which state pays bus drivers, transit and intercity the least?

Among the 50 states and DC, Arkansas reports the lowest median for bus drivers, transit and intercity at $37,520 a year, $46,960 below the highest-paying state (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Among the territories, Puerto Rico reports $32,230.

Is the highest-paying state the best for bus drivers, transit and intercity after cost of living?

Yes. New York stays first after dividing each state median by its BEA Regional Price Parity, at $78,279 in national-average dollars from a raw $84,480. BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024; the adjustment is NueCareer's calculation.

Back to the full Bus Driver, Transit and Intercity career profile